Vampire powers

Discussion in 'Fantasy' started by Imaginarily, Oct 2, 2015.

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  1. I.A. By the Barn

    I.A. By the Barn A very lost time traveller Contributor

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    My vampire is basically an addict, to blood. I think a vampire should do all the traditionally vampire things like not sparkling, can't be seen in mirrors, hates sunlight for reasons of BURNING (not sparkling), turns into a bat and regularly drinks blood, and of course, doesn't sparkle. Due to my book's theme of pain and suffering I do have a vampire doctor, who generally has his mind degrade across the book and there is nothing anyone can do. He knows he shouldn't be doing it but to have that respite from the urge of blood for a few seconds is too great for him.
     
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  2. psychotick

    psychotick Contributor Contributor

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    Hi,

    My likes with vampires are for the traditional vampires, minus a couple of things. But basically blood sucking monsters. So Twilight was a true horror for me.

    The powers I truly hate fall into two categories. The first are infinite powers. Anything that is essentially unbeatable. And the vampire's ability to turn other people into vampires is that. It doesn't matter what the reason behind it is, some sort of disease or what have you, in the end it's a logarithmic / exponential growth of the vampire race, which means that my first and only question would be why are there any humans left alive. I can live with turning people if there's aheavy price paid by the vampires for doing it, so that it's something they would go to great lengths to avoid. But otherwise no.

    The other powers I dislike are the illogical ones. Shape shifting is fine. Shapeshifting into a half pound bat is not. What happened to the other eighty kilos of him? No reflections is bad too. If I can't see a reflection how can I see the actual vampire?

    Cheers, Greg.
     
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  3. MockingJD

    MockingJD Member

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    I always liked the idea that vampires can't enter your home unless they're invited in. I don't know if that's a classic weakness or if someone added it along the way, but I thought it was kind of a cool touch.
     
  4. Mars

    Mars New Member

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    Vampires are my least favorite supernatural creatures... So it's ironic that my main characters is one. Whoops?

    My favorite vampire ability is their allergy to garlic. It's just so mundane -- I think it's hilarious! My least favorite is the one where they change into bats. That one is a bit too ridiculous for me.

    As for my vampires... it's more like being a subspecies of human, not a contagious disease. Vampirism is a genetic line that originated in Korea. Their bones are naturally thicker and a bit stronger, and they have a three sets of teeth in their gums. At some point in their late teens to early twenties, they hit a "second puberty" that makes them teeth a third time and start smelling blood. That's about it, I think! :supergrin:
     
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  5. Sundowner

    Sundowner Active Member

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    It seems very little-known, but the garlic thing is actually because cloves of garlic (whole cloves, not garlic in any form) used to be a religious symbol, so it's the same as a cross. Most people don't know this, including vampire fiction authors, and just think they're flat-out allergic to garlic. But yeah, I never really went for the garlic thing either, and it's starting to seem archaic in pop culture. I see a lot of recent vampire fiction either disregard garlic entirely or have the vampires say they like garlic. I think Dracula is the only thing to really do it accurately, since they hang garlic in windows to keep him out, which goes by the old European folklore.

    I agree with @Greenwood in that I prefer helpless vampires. I like it to be realistic and stealthy. Sure, they can be stronger and get back up if you bash them in the head with a shovel, but if they kill people, people will notice that, and get angry and start investigating. That's something I never liked about Anne Rice's work (I do like her work, though), the vampires just kill whoever and it doesn't matter at all. Like, a person is a complex thing, with a life and social status, with people who care about them, who would mourn their death. Not food. That's one of the reasons I like vampires so much, because they have to kill people to survive. A person is the most beautiful thing in the world - pardon the flamboyancy of that statement - and they have to take one out of the world every so often just to live. It's pretty deep. I guess that's my favorite "power"?
     
  6. RahnyJae

    RahnyJae Member

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    Vamps are my least favorite, as well. The closest I get to a vampire in one of my stories is a sort of bat-monkey (a little monkey with bat-like traits, but no wings) that the other supes keep as pets. However, your vamps do sound super dope. Reminds me of my favorite Blade movie, Blade 2 because the vamps in that one had like venus fly trap mouths. I don't hate vampires as a whole, I just prefer that they be more...creature-y, if that makes sense. I'm a little over the marble skinned glowy eyed vamp with old money wealth and some kind of British accent. Being super wealthy and drinking blood out of wine glasses and stuff, yeah that stuff isn't my taste, especially since in general, I prefer ragtag/misfit, grungy type characters and settings as opposed to polished blue blood high society types. When vampires are depicted as the latter (like in Underworld), I always just think "they could just as easily be creepy human rich people with weird teeth right now." Like where are the poor vampires, there had to be some peasants who got turned and just lived among the laypeople for centuries. lol But I digress.
     
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